Penrith, United Kingdom

Penrith lies in the Eden Valley, just north of the River Eamont. Other local rivers bounding the town are the Lowther and Petteril. Thacka Beck flows through the town centre partly in a culvert, remaining mostly underground. It links the River Petteril and the River Eamont. For many centuries, the Beck provided Penrith's main water supply. Thacka Beck Nature Reserve provides flood storage to protect buildings in Penrith. Another stream, the Myers or Dog Beck, flows through and under the south-west of the town, joining Thacka Beck near Tynefield Court. The Dog Beck section has also been known as Scumscaw Beck or Tyne Syke. In 2014 the pub chain Wetherspoons opened a branch in Penrith, naming it the Dog Beck. There are also streams or becks running through the Carleton area of the town.

Castletown, west of the West Coast Main Line, includes the Gilwilly Industrial Estate and some of the Penrith or Myers Industrial Estate. The area, originally built for workers on the railway line, mostly consists of late 19th and early 20th-century terraced housing, including some council housing. Since the 1990s, private developments such as Greystoke Park, Castletown Drive and Castle Park have appeared.

As a market town relying heavily on the tourist trade, Penrith benefits from some high-street chain stores and local specialist shops alongside other businesses such as banks, building societies and travel agents.

Market days are traditionally Tuesday and Saturday. On Tuesdays there was a small outdoor market in Great Dockray and Cornmarket. This ceased in the early 21st century, since when a small farmers' market has been held in the Market Square once a month. On Saturdays, Cumbria's largest outdoor market takes place at the Auction Mart alongside the M6 motorway junction 40.

The main central shopping areas are Middlegate, Little Dockray, Devonshire Street/Market Square, Cornmarket, King Street, Angel Lane and the Devonshire Arcade and Angel Square precincts, with some shops in Burrowgate, Brunswick Road and Great Dockray.

The Penrith dialect known as Penrithian, spoken around the Penrith and Eden district area, is a variant of the Cumbrian dialect.

Like other rural towns of its size, Penrith relies on public houses to form the basis of social entertainment. It was once famous for the sheer number of its pubs, served by five working breweries. The trend of pub closures continues, but many remain. They range from small traditional pubs with a loyal clientele to bigger bars that form part of the "circuit". Penrith also has numerous dining places and restaurants.

The Lonsdale (formerly the Alhambra) in Middlegate is a cinema with three screens built in 1910 by William Forrester. There was until the 1980s another cinema called the Regent on Old London Road.

Amateur dramatics and musicals are staged at the Penrith Players Theatre, Ullswater Community College and Queen Elizabeth Grammar School.

Mayday Carnival: On the first Monday in May, Penrith holds a Mayday Carnival run by Penrith Lions Club. It includes a parade, street dancers and fairground rides in the Great Dockray and Market Square car parks of the commercial area. The procession includes floats, vintage cars and tractors, a marching band, various local celebrities and members of the Penrith Lions Club. It starts in the yard of Ullswater Community College and ends in the bus station car park. Many roads in the centre are closed for the event.

Penrith hosts two Community Cadet Forces units: 1247 Squadron of the Air Training Corps and Penrith Detachment of Cumbria Army Cadet Force.

Beaconside Primary, Eden Mount/Brent Road. Until 2008 there were separate Beaconside Infant and Junior schools.

North Lakes School (formerly Wetheriggs Junior; was at first a girls-only school), Huntley Avenue – North Lakes was one of the first schools in England to be awarded a Sing Up Gold Award (in December 2008) and soon after that their highest accolade, a Sing Up Platinum Award.

Ullswater Community College (formerly Ullswater High School, and before that, two single sex secondary modern schools on the same site called Tynefield (girls) and Ullswater (boys)), Wetheriggs Lane

Queen Elizabeth Grammar School (QEGS) (selective), Ullswater Road

The former Newton Rigg College had its campus just outside the town. Its most recent owner was Askham Bryan College but in the past it has been part of UCLAN and subsequently the University of Cumbria. Since the closure some facilities remain available for public and educational use, for example the Equestrian Centre re-opened in February 2022

Ullswater Community College had a large further or adult education centre.

Girls National School (building now housing school replaced by Beaconside Juniors), Drovers Lane